Tuesday, April 29, 2014

In the old Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia they used to shout TITO-PARTIJA as sign of enforced consensus of the population. Since the collapse of SFRY and the Soviet Union in 1991 we have had the European Union taking on board more and more the characteristics of these two socialist multi-ethnic federations. The EU pushes a line of diversity and tolerance but it's not diverse and certainly not tolerant.

Which brings us to the next question:

WHO IS ANNA MILOVANOVIC-FAZLIU?

Lord have mercy on us, but young Anna has been "marinaded" with EU nanny state thinking - her qualifications:

University of Kent at Brussels - Master of Laws (LLM), International Law with International Relations2011 – 2012.You can read more on the EU nanny state here link

In one of the EU mouthpieces, which makes the old Soviet state controlled newspaper Pravda look like amateurs, the Balkaninsight blog, she wrote:

"Macedonia's leadership problem is also a global leadership problem. Diaspora communities, Macedonia’s included, export conflicts from their home countries. Members of the US Congress then adopt the perceived positions of their constituents, empowering nationalists in the countries of origin and reversing progress made in the said countries. But diasporas should avoid hindering political maturation in their country of origin and ethnic barriers must be discarded to work on substantive issues. The Macedonian diaspora should welcome all Macedonian citizens and individuals who identify as Macedonian, whether by ethnicity or nationality, and set a positive example for their country of origin."

One of the worst articles ever written in attacking the ethnic Macedonian diaspora in allegedly exporting conflict.. Bad expression. Cookie-cutter or template expressions in mouthing EU directives on tolerance, which in effect are intolerant.

Milovanovic must have forgotten but ethnic leader Albanian Ali Ahmeti was exporting war in 2001 from his residence in Switzerland and it had nothing to do with the ethnic Macedonian diaspora.

It's not the ethnic Macedonian diaspora that is "excluding" Mr Ahmeti but Mr Ahmeti excluding himself by using a foreign flag, that of neighbouring Albania. It's Mr Ahmeti, according to US diplomatic cables published in wikileaks, who imports/exports conflict by using thugs from Kosovo to beat up local Albanians in Macedonia to vote for him.

In 2013 we wrote: "Ali Ahmeti, since his 2001 ethnic Albanian uprising made him a political powerbroker in the Republic of Macedonia courtesy of getting the West on side, has successfully played a great political balancing act, keeping two contradictory forces, the Liberal West and his conservative electorate on side. But for how long can he keep this up before his opponents--and we are not talking about the Macedonian political bloc but from within his own camp-- see the contradictions? Ahmeti heads the DUI party - (Democratic Union for Integration or BDS in Albanian)."

Don't take my word for it… you can read all about Mr Ahmeti's great balancing act here - see links to previous stories:The Nanny State - Macedonian style - link

Milovanovic sees herself as the voice of reason in trying to downplay "ethnic tensions" in Macedonia but it is the wrong way in going about it. She is rewarding someone who has committed acts of violence, Mr Ahmeti, in obtaining power.

Then there is Russian President Vladimir Putin and his concerns over ethnic violence being exported from Macedonia to Syria but ironically enough its not from ethnic Macedonians! see links here

I don't know how much "tolerant" and "diverse" Macedonia can get when it has bent over backwards to accommodate the standards set by the EU, which hypocritically are not practiced by EU members Greece and Bulgaria over their denial of Macedonian identity. Furthermore, Macedonia's Defence Minister is a guy called Talat Xhaferi, an ethnic Albanian Macedonian Army officer who deserted to join Ahmeti in the 2001 war in Macedonia. I can't for the life of me understand where Milovanovic is going with her assertions?

Another question remains is why do pundits such as Anna Milovanovic and fellow cookie-cutter journalist Sinisa Jakov-Marusic avoid asking Ahmeti his views on women's rights, feminism, the family structure, abortion, gender orientation? We have raised this issue with EU Commissioner Fule, why are Milovanovic and Marusic too afraid to do the same?

After all these experts claim to support diversity and tolerance? Why are they "discriminating" against Mr Ahmeti by not asking for his views?

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A sample of Sinisa Jakov Marusic's EU cookie-cutter or template journalism. He takes a report on face value which is critical of The Republic of Macedonia, yet in contravention of standard journalist practice, he doesn't get a response from the Macedonian government nor even the opposition parties, not even the ethnic Albanian parties on such a sensitive issue.

We don't know the break down of the statistics provided, and so on. Helsinki Watch is not quoted nor the United Nations nor Amnesty International. The story which is ambigious infers that somehow ethnic Macedonians are responslibe for the alleged transgression...because on the one hand the European Union is pushing for more inclusion of ethnic Albanian parties in Macedonia's political process. We've documented in our story above of Ali Ahmeti's influence over the Macedonian government. Now, shouldn't DUI also come under scrutiny as well as a member of the coalition government?

The point here is everyone is open to scrutiny, regardless of the issue.BALKAN INSIGHT- link16 FEB 12Macedonia Gay Rights Record 'Worst in Balkans'Sinisa Jakov Marusic, Skopje

Macedonia least respects the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual community, of all the countries in the Balkans, an international watchdog says.

Macedonia's gay rights record has been slated by an international LGBT rights group.

An updated annual report, “Rainbow Europe Index 2011,” by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, ILGA–Europe, puts Macedonia at the bottom of the Balkans when it comes to legal protection for the community.

Macedonia scored only -2 on a scale from 17 to -7, with 17 as the highest score and -7 as the lowest, meaning a country characterised by “gross violations of human rights and discrimination” against the gay community.

Macedonia is the only country from the Balkans placed in the so-called red zone of worst offenders, among 13 other states.

The index covers laws and administrative practices that protect or violate human rights, though it does not reflect the broader social situation that LGBT people might encounter in their societies.

“Laws on hate and violence do not refer to sexual orientation or gender identity and do not recognise sexual orientation or gender identity as an aggravating factor,” ILGA complains about Macedonia, noting also that the country provides no legal recognition of same-sex partnerships.

The rest of the Balkans is only slightly better and most countries fall into the so-called yellow zone of countries that are mediocre respecters of gay rights.

The only Balkan countries listed in the better so-called green zone are Slovenia with 6 points and Croatia with 7.

Of the rest of Europe, Ukraine comes right at the bottom, with -4 points, making it the worst violator of LGBT rights in the continent. The United Kingdom with 12.5 and Spain and Sweden with 12 points are on the top of the chart of 49 European countries.

ILGA-Europe is an international non-governmental umbrella organisation bringing together 331 organisations advocating human rights and equality for LGBT people at the European level.

Monday, April 28, 2014

SOLVING PRIVATE MATEVSKI - the Macedonian soldier who fell at Normandy in the US Army.

photo by Vlado Krstevski

by Sasha UzunovJune/July 1944 D-Day and Normandy Landings - Steven Spielberg had Saving Private Ryan, we have SOLVING PRIVATE MATEVSKI .With the 70th anniversary of D-Day approaching... I began seeking any information on a Private First Class Panta Matevich (Pande Matevski) 28th Infantry regiment, 8th Infantry Division, US Army, who fell in July 1944 in Normandy, after reading an article see attached below.My own research has uncovered some details:His final resting place is in Bitola, Macedonia, the country of his birth. There has been some confusion over his identity. When he left his homeland of Macedonia in 1938 it was then under Serbo-Yugoslav occupation and his name was changed to Matevich, under which he enlisted in the US Army. He was born in Bitola, Macedonia then under Serboian occupation in 1914 and in 1938 moved to Chiacgo, Illinois, US. I believe he had a younger brother called Pete Matevich who also served in WWII. Their sister was Kalopia Tasseff, who married a Bozin Tasseff, born in 1892 in Macedonia.According to US military records a Private First Class Panta Matevich, born 1914, enlisted in the US Army from Cook County, Chicago Ilinois, US. Army ID number is 36032731The attached article below contains some errors - namely his rank of Petty Officer instead of PFC and makes the wrong assumption he was in Airborne. Matevski did not take part in the initial landings on 6 June 1944 known as D-Day but arrived a month later and took part in what was known as the Normandy breakout... the hard and brutal battle to push the Germans from the beaches of Normandy into German territory. His unit 28th Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division, US Army, was known as the Pathfinders and Blacklions. They were not Airborne or Parachute but took part in some of the heavy fighting against the Germans leading upto the Battle of the Bulge. PFC Matevski was killed in action on the 4th of July 1944 - American independence day - on the beaches of Normandy during the break out. His unit landed on 4 July 1944 at Utah Beach, one of the original landing sites of the allies on D-Day 6 June 1944. We salute his bravery and ultimate sacrifice.

American Petty Officer from Macedonia: The Mystery of the Soldier from Bitola that Died in the Invasion of NormandyApril 8, 2014, reporter Zaneta Zdravkovska

The only testimony that this soldier participated in the invasion is the memorial plaque at his derelict crypt at the Bukovo’s cemetery in Bitola. Photo: dnevnik.mk

Pande Matevski from Bitola (1914-1944) participated in the Invasion of Normandy in occupied France in 1944 during the World War II, Macedonian daily Dnevnik reports.

This is the only one or at least one of few Macedonians that took part in the largest amphibious invasion in the human history, known as the D-Day. Unfortunately the history books and the online site of the American Veterans Center contain no data of the officer from Bitola, who died age 30 during the big parachute landing action.

The only testimony that this soldier participated in the invasion is the memorial plaque at his derelict crypt at the Bukovo’s cemetery in Bitola. The plaque reads: “Here lays Pande Matevski, born 1914 in Bitola, who died in the Invasion of Normandy in July 1944 as an American petty officer.” The lower part of the plaque reads that the memorial is built by his family.

One can enter the crypt through the door apparently being left unlocked long time ago. There, for nearly 70 years lays the metal coffin with the remains of the petty officer. There is a candlestick in the room and there are a wreath and photos of the soldier and a woman, probably his mother, placed on the wall.

“We know that he died in 1944 and was brought here in a metal casket and placed in the crypt in 1947. It is assumed that it was the soldier’s mother that returned his remains in his native Bitola. It is known that some relatives were visiting the tomb until the ’60 of the last century,” says Aleksandar Litovski, historian of the Institute and Museum of Bitola.

Unfortunately, there are no accurate data on the soldier from Bitola who was a direct participant in the invasion. It was assumed that the he was aviator although part of the military forces participating in the landing was brought to France by sea.

“There are many different speculations on where he was from-Bitola or the surrounding villages. It is assumed that he was a volunteer in the American army. Most probably Matevski, just like many other Macedonians, a migrant worker in the States from there he joined the Allied troops,” Litovski added.

The topic remains open for further research. It is possible that some institutions have data on the soldier Matevski. In the past, his tomb was visited by representatives of the US Embassy in Belgrade.

“There was an initiative from the Embassy of the United States for Thanksgiving Day to be marked on the Balkans on the grave of this soldier at Bukovski’s cemetery in Bitola,” said the head of the cemetery, Jordan Ristovski.

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About Me

Sasha Uzunov graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia, in 1991. He enlisted in the Australian Regular Army as a soldier in 1995 and was allocated to infantry. He served two peacekeeping tours in East Timor (1999 and 2001). In 2002 he returned to civilian life as a photo journalist and film maker and has worked in The Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan. His documentary film Timor Tour of Duty made its international debut in New York in October 2009. It picked up a Platinum Reel Award from the 2009 Nevada Film Festival (US). He blogs at Team Uzunov.
His camerawork featured in a 2010 Canadian documentary film, "Afghanistan: outside the wire," Produced by Scott Taylor.